Meaning of education and its purpose

Education

 

 

 

Meaning of education and its purpose

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When we talk about education, so many things come into the minds of people. However, the first thing that comes into the minds of most people when education is mentioned; is school. But does education mean going to school only? In some communities, schooling was introduced in recent year. On the other hand, there are still societies where formal schooling does not exist at all. It includes communities that are rooted in hunting and gathering. Actually, most school emerged after the invention of writing. This essay involves the critical discussion of what education is, its purpose, education as a cultural process and how culture affects education.

Meaning of education

Education is the process where the acquisition of skills, beliefs and knowledge and learning are facilitated. This also includes the acquisition of beliefs. Some of the methods that can be used in education involve discussion, teaching, storytelling or training. Education in most circumstances happens under the guidance of an educator. The students could also educate themselves (Dewey, 1944). Education can either be formal or informal. Any experience that will have an impact on the way people behave, think, ac or feel is considered education. Therefore, this is to mean that education does not have to take place in schools alone. Training a child to go to the toilet and to walk can, therefore, be considered to be education.

Formal education takes place in a structured environment. The [purpose of learners going to such a structured environment is to be taught. Generally, formal education occurs is a school set-up with many learners and trained teacher (Mary & Aikman, 2003). The learners are taught together. Majority of the systems in schools are set from particular values. On the other hand, informal education occurs in many settings like home, work and through the interactions that people have on a daily basis. Informal education can also take place in a formal educational set-up.

Education can also be defined as “a purposive, conscious or unconscious, psychological, sociological, scientific and philosophical process, which brings about the development of the individual to the fullest extent and also the maximum development of society in such a way that both enjoy maximum happiness and prosperity (Kumar & Ahmad, n.d).” Therefore, it can be concluded that education is the process which seeks to develop an individual according to their needs and to satisfy the demands of the society.

Purpose of education

The process of education is an activity with a purpose. When people are educated, the aim is to bring specific characteristics which are desirable among learners. Education is a conscious process in that there are set aims and objectives that need to be achieved. It is such kind of goals that give meaning and direction to the whole process. The purpose of education has evolved over the years. It keeps changing from age to age (Kumar & Ahmad, n.d).

Ackoff and Greenberg (2008), claim that the education system that exists in the world today is flawed. They further argue that the current education system does not emphasize learning. Instead, more emphasis is put on teaching. They question reasons why both children and adults are told to perform tasks that can be effectively accomplished by computers. They go ahead to question why education does not focus on what human beings can do better. The traditional system of education focuses on teaching rather than learning (Wharton University of Pennsylvania, 2008). It is assumed that for each lesson that is taught the learners something. However, most of what is taught in class are quickly forgotten or rather, learners remember the irrelevant stuff. This brings us to the question about the purpose of education.

The purpose of education is to give learners the skills and knowledge they need for them to grow as responsible people in society. This was the education’s initial aim and is still the purpose today. When Martin Luther King Junior was giving a speech at Morehouse College in 1948, he mentioned that the use of education was to ensure that individuals developed critical thinking skills. He further went ahead to make a claim one can be considered the most dangerous criminal if they possess the gift of reason, but they lack morals (ASD, 2012). To him, intelligence was enough. Instead, he mentioned that character and knowledge is the real purpose of education.

Arthur (1991) says that one of the objectives of education since the olden days is to “bring people to as full a realization of what it is to a human being.” Other phrases that are used to describe education aims include satisfying the social needs of individuals. However, Arthur claims that “These purposes offered are undesirably limited in scope, and in some instances, they conflict with the broad purpose I have indicated; they imply a distorted human existence. The broader humanistic purpose includes all of them, and goes beyond them, for it seeks to encompass all the dimensions of human experience.”

Other people like Christopher and John (2008) argue that there is no single agreed purpose of education. They indicate that some authors form the basis of education purpose on the value it has to individuals. Such authors stress the need for education to influence the personal development of learners positively and the formation of cultural identity. Other authors focus on the purpose of education based on the contribution it makes to the society like molding the students into responsible and productive society members.

Education as a cultural transmission

The term culture can be problematic because it means a different thing to different people in different scenarios. One of the definitions of culture refers to the changing values, norms, changing political relationships which a specific group of people shares through some factors that bring them together (Sonia, 1999). In general writing, the term culture is used to reveal social charm. The term is used collectively used to refer to socially transmitted behavior patterns. According to Taylor, it is a complex system which includes the laws, customs, and beliefs, capabilities and habits which are acquired by the members of the society.

Culture and education are two terms that cannot be separated from each other. It is the cultural patterns in a society that helps to form its educational patterns. If the cultural trends of society follow the spiritual path, then the procedure used in the education will be based on eternal values of life and the attainment of morals (Kumar, 2019). Also, if the culture of a society is materialistic, then the procedure used in education will be based on the attainment of material possessions. Any community that has no culture has no specific organization in their education system. The culture of a country, therefore, has a significant influence on its education patterns (Kumar, 2019). Education which is part of culture has dual functionality conserving or modifying the culture of a society.

 

One of the mentioned facts about culture is that it is ordinary. Every society has its shape and its meanings. Each community expresses their culture through institutions such as education and arts and learning. Society becomes a society if it has a common meaning. Education has been essential in helping pass these shared meaning in the community and in preserving them to future generations (William, 1989). The school which is one of the institutions that help in the transmission of culture does not reflect the society where the vices and virtues of society are mirrored. Instead, it serves as an avenue for testing whether the values, attitudes, and beliefs in society are making it better. Education reflects what is happening within the social, political and cultural confines.

Various theoretical perspectives help to give an interpretation of what culture is. The first is the functionalist perspective which looks at society as a system where all the parts work together to give the result of the community as a whole. The cultural norms of society support it for practical functionality. The cultural values of a society act as a guide through which people make important decisions. In the same way, people in society exist together to need the needs of the community; culture exists to satisfy the requirements of the members. The functionalist perspective studies culture regarding values as well. The culture of education includes the textbooks, classes, dormitories among other aspects helps to support the emphasis that is put on educating the members of society. Education helps to transmit the culture of a society and to make any modifications.

The symbolic interactionism is another perspective which deals with the face to face interactions that people have daily. Culture is created and maintained through the day to day interactions of people. As people get an education, they get to interact and transmit the culture of the society to one another. The proponents of the interactionism model argue that that the interactions that populations have are a continuous process which helps to derive meaning from the environment.

From the above discussion, one can conclude that education is an avenue from the transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to another. It is the culture of a society that forms the basis of an educational program. Education hence draws its content from culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Ackoff, R. L., and Greenberg, D. (2008) Turning Learning Right Side Up: Putting Education Back on Track. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

ASD. (2012) What is the purpose of education. Available at: https://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_update/eu201207_infographic.pdf

Christopher, W. and John, G., Philosophy of Education: The Key Concepts (2nd edition). London: Routledge, 2008. pp. 10–11

Dewey, John (1944) Democracy and Education. The Free Press. pp. 1–4.

Kumar, S. & Ahmad, S. (n.d). Meaning, aims and processes of education. Available at: https://sol.du.ac.in/SOLSite/Courses/UG/StudyMaterial/16/Part1/ED/English/SM-1.pdf

Kumar, S. (2019) Culture and Education. Available at: https://sol.du.ac.in/mod/book/view.php?id=1449&chapterid=1335

May, S.; Aikman, S. (2003) “Indigenous Education: Addressing Current Issues and Developments”. Comparative Education. 39 (2), pp. 139–45.

Sonia, N. (1999). The Light In Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities. New York: Teachers College Press.

 

Wharton University of Pennsylvania. (2008). The Objective of Education Is Learning, Not Teaching. Available at: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-objective-of-education-is-learning-not-teaching/

Williams, R. (1989). Resource of Hope: Culture, democracy, socialism. London: Verso.